


his chamber in the silent halls of death

by bereft_of_frogs



Series: the dead reign there alone [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: (this family is so dysfunctional but it might be the only thing that could save the universe), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Execution, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, Ghosts, Illusions, Imprisonment, Nightmares, Past Torture, Protective Siblings, Royal Politics, Sibling Rivalry, Suicide Attempt, The Tesseract (Marvel), Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 16:09:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21412945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bereft_of_frogs/pseuds/bereft_of_frogs
Summary: Hela has secured her claim to the throne, and imprisoned her brothers in Asgard's cells. She should be reveling in her new reign......but it turns out she has something of a suitor. The Queen of Asgard receives a transmission from a Titan who has a proposition for her. He claims he wants to give her a gift, and only asks for a single treasure from the vaults and the life of the younger prince in return.Hela's not so sure about this one.
Relationships: (onesided), Frigga | Freyja & Hela (Marvel), Hela & Loki & Thor (Marvel), Hela & Loki (Marvel), Hela & Thor (Marvel), Hela/Thanos (Marvel), Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Series: the dead reign there alone [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1521794
Comments: 50
Kudos: 259





	his chamber in the silent halls of death

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! It's taken a bit longer to get this part ready to post, following posting the first part. Thank you for your patience! 
> 
> Warnings: fantastical racism, suicide attempt, discussion of past torture and threat of future torture, execution, (specifically by hanging), (though there is actually _NO character death!)_
> 
> This series continues to be quite dark, so please heed warnings and take that into consideration! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

Days pass. Weeks. Perhaps months. It is difficult to tell, in the bowels of the prisons, with their single tiny, barred window. They can tell day from night. A skeletal guard brings them food and fresh water at what seem like regular intervals. But they quickly lose count of the passage of time, how many days flow past as they are trapped in the tight cell. Thor thinks if he were alone he would have gone entirely mad.

It helps a little that Loki is there with him. Loki who is skittish and jumpy and irritable even days after Hela locks them away.

“What did she do to you?” He finally asks. Loki won’t look at him. He is seated crosslegged on their thin bed, chewing on his thumb. “Loki.”

“Nothing,” He answers quickly, hunching over. “She didn’t…I loathe being forced to change my form, you know that.” Shapeshifting was often a comfort, a way Loki had learned to soothe himself. But equally, to be forced to do so was a torment. And a prolonged transformation was uncomfortable, even a willing one, Thor knew that as well. It’s possible his brother is simply dealing with the aftereffects of being confined in the form of a bird.

“Hm,” Thor finally hums, after studying his brother for a long time. “Can I help?”

Loki glances at him, and shakes his head. “It will pass,” He says simply, and goes back to staring into the distance and chewing on his thumb. Thor lets the matter pass for now. But he still has the sense that Loki is hiding something from him.

The cell is small and far too crowded for the two of them. Especially with so much still left unsaid between them. They fight often. A couple times their fights turning physical, rehashing all that has been building up over and over.

“What did you expect to happen, Loki?” Thor roars at the climax of their largest fight. “What did you expect? You would rule Earth, kill me, _what?_ What did you _want?”_

“You would have perhaps found out, if I had-” Thor slams him back against the wall. Loki laughs, semi-hysterically, in his face. “Do it, go ahead, kill me like you were going to on the cliffside, before _she_ showed up-” Thor drops him.

“You drive me _mad!”_ He shouts as Loki slides down the wall, cackling. “You’re going to make me _insane_, I cannot understand the workings of your mind, you…you vile-”

“Vile what?” Loki spits back. “Vile witch, vile coward, vile villain, what am I? Vile monster, that’s what I am.” He rises to his feet. “That’s what she calls me, you know? Our queen. ‘Little monster.’ She can see me for what I am and accepts that I am less than human, that I am a vile monster. Say it!” Loki strikes at his chest. “Your fury comes from expecting me to be more than my nature and being disappointed when I reveal my true monstrosity. Say it!” He strikes Thor again, tears coming to his eyes. “Say it, call me by my true name, then perhaps you can find it in yourself to know me for what I truly am-” When Loki moves to strike Thor again, he catches his wrists.

“No, you’re not a monster,” Thor says gently. “You’re not.”

“Then what am I?” Loki’s breath hitches. “I’m a traitor, a coward, a murderer, a conqueror-”

“Yes.” Thor sighs. “But you are also my brother. You have also saved my life. You gave yourself up for Asgard.” Loki tries to struggle out of Thor’s grip, but he won’t let him.

“Let go,” Loki says. “Let me _go_.”

“No. No. You’re not a monster, Loki. You’re many things, but you are _not_ a monster.”

This is how many of their fights end, with a reminder of their common enemy softening their anger at each other. Hela is a constant invisible presence. They always wonder where she is, what she’s doing, but she shows herself occasionally. Sometimes she questions them at length, threatens them, though she never follows through with her threats. She also says things that suggest that she watches them, hears what they say to each other, and they are careful in their attempts to plan an escape.

“You’re sure you cannot access your magic?” Thor whispers in his ear in the dead of night.

“Whoever enchanted the bonds on the cells was very thorough,” Loki whispers back. “I cannot even shapeshift again, not without more effort than I can spare. I suppose we have Father to thank for that.”

As much as their confined state can sometimes bring out the worst in them, leading to sniping and fighting, at night it can be calming. There is only one thin and lumpy mattress that they share and it’s awkward at first, but once they are used to it, it becomes a familiar comfort. An echo of the times they had shared a bed through the centuries: when they were very small and would fall asleep playing, countless journeys and hunting trips, curling together in their tents.

And neither of them are free of nightmares. In the darkness, it is easy to set aside their conflicts and take comfort in the other’s presence.

Thor’s nightmares are unsurprising. He often finds himself waking, desperately pressing his hand over Loki’s chest, only able to properly breathe when he feels the steady beat of his heart against his hand.

Loki’s nightmares are…alarming, and grow worse the longer they are imprisoned. After a full week of worsening nightmares, ones that leave him shrieking and insensible for hours, a week of Thor’s concern growing more and more frantic, he finally confesses what happened in the Void.

When his confession is over, Thor takes him into his arms and holds him as he trembles with dry sobs. After a few minutes, Loki realizes that Thor’s breaths are equally halting and unsteady.

“I’m sorry,” Thor chokes out through tears. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I didn’t…I didn’t know.” They spend the night in absurd sentimentality, crying all over each other. Loki is terribly embarrassed in the morning.

“It was not…it _was_ my fault,” He tries to explains a few days later, leaning against the wall and worrying at his hands. “He didn’t control me, I chose what I did in New York. I chose what I told…what I told him of Asgard. And I told him…_everything_. I did not tell you what happened as an excuse.”

“I understand, brother,” Thor says. “But you did not deserve what he did to you.” Loki’s watery eyes flick up to him. “You didn’t. No matter what else…you did not deserve to be hurt like that.” Loki shudders. “And it _is_ an explanation. It has filled in gaps that tormented me when I thought you were dead, when I first went looking for the Stones.” They lapse into silence for a while. “What are we going to do?”

Loki snorts. “What is there to do? Tell Hela? There is no way to warn anyone else now. And besides, even with Odin gone and Hela on the throne, Thanos is no match for Asgard. The Tesseract is safe in the vaults, as long as Hela doesn’t try anything foolish with it, and in an absurd way, I’m safe here as well. We don’t have to worry about him, not for now at least.” He smiles weakly. "And perhaps by the time we figure a way out of these cells, your Avenger friends will have defeated Thanos for us."

Thor tries to keep his face neutral, but a flicker of doubt passes across it and sends Loki into a laughing spell.

"They're trying," Thor insists, when their laughter fades.

"Trying is not going to be enough to defeat Thanos."

Loki’s nightmares fade for a while, then pick back up again, with a new subject matter. One night, Loki wakes from a particularly wild, shrieking nightmare, trying to beat Thor away from him, and Thor gets a second revelation, this time about what transpired while Hela and Loki were alone together. It takes Thor a long time to ease his brother into coherence and, in the moment of vulnerability, Loki finally spills the story Hela had told him. About the pregnancy.

Thor’s rage explodes.

“Hela!” He roars at the ceiling. “You _bitch_, you coward, I know you can hear me, come down and face me!”

“Thor, _don’t_,” Loki gasps.

"You know she can hear us, you know she's been listening! Hela!"

“Fool. Don’t.” Thor ignores him, spitting insults and curses at the barrier. Sure enough, it’s not long before the Queen of Asgard herself appears in the hall.

_“What?”_ She cries. “What could you _possibly_ want at this bloody hour?”

“You’ve been ignoring us for weeks, and I tire of it. You cannot simply lock us down here to let us rot.”

“Oh, but I can,” She leans against the bars. “I’m the queen, aren’t I? You know that. What is this really about, dearest brother?” Thor pounds a fist against the barrier.

“You will pay for this, for what you did to her, you murderous _bitch-_“ Hela’s eyes slide past him, landing on Loki’s tear-stained face.

“Ah, you told him. I was wondering how long it would take.” She walks up the two steps, easily crossing the barrier. Thor lunges for her, but she’s still quicker. The obsidian blade is pressed to his throat before he can move to strike.

“Don’t!” Loki cries. “Hela, please, wait-”

“Back up,” Hela commands. “Or I’ll slit your throat. And what will I do to the little monster once you’re gone, hm?” Thor obeys, backing up towards the bed. He can hear Loki’s ragged breathing. “We need to talk, brother. Alone. Don’t you agree?”

“I do,” Thor growls. “It is overdue.”

“And I can’t have you attacking me while we talk.” She produces a pair of manacles and tosses them to him. “Bind yourself. Hands behind your back.” Without taking his eyes off her, he complies, clicking the heavy metal around his wrists. It’s awkward, but he manages. “Good. Let’s go.”

“_No_,” Loki gasps. “No, please, don’t take him-”

“Don’t be afraid, little monster.” Hela shoves Thor towards the door. “Stay here, pet. It will be all right.” She runs her fingers through his dark hair to cup his chin. He flinches away, raising a trembling hand to his throat. Then Hela takes Thor’s arm in her bony grip and drags him out of the prison.

She takes him to the tower, to a balcony overlooking the city. Thor drinks in the sight, sucking in breaths of cold fresh air, trying to wash away the weeks in the stale, buried prison.

“Why have you brought me here?” Thor asks. “Going to toss me off?”

“You said you wanted to talk, I thought we should do it alone. And I thought you deserved a reward while we chatted.”

“I _just_ said I was going to kill you.”

“Yes,” Hela leans against the railing. “It actually made me respect you a bit more, little brother.”

Thor flinches. “Why have you done this, why have you done any of this? For revenge? Because Odin was casting you aside? What?”

“The throne is mine by right. And besides, Odin made me this way, and then locked me up. Don’t you know what that feels like? Don't you think I deserve revenge?”

“I had a lesson to learn. A bitter one, that cost me nearly everything.”

“Hm. But he let you come back, his golden son. His true heir. And he spent the rest of his life driving his _spares_ away. Locking me in Hel. Driving the little monster to suicide, locking him away when that failed.”

“Stop _calling_ him that.”

“That’s what the Jotnar _are_,” Hela insists. “Monsters, beasts. Just because Odin dressed a shapeshifting one up like the Aesir and pretended it was his son-”

“Stop,” Thor snaps.

“Fine,” Hela huffs. “Fine, I’ll stop. I can’t pretend that the little…the little m-…the little _mage_ hasn’t grown on me.”

Thor gapes at her. “Grown on you? You nearly strangled him to death, you forced him-”

“Yes, yes.” She waves him off. “Fine. I lost my temper. He was asking questions, prodding at things he should have left alone. Honestly, you have both rather grown on me. But perhaps I’m just bored.” She cups his chin, forcing their gazes together. “I didn’t hate you at first, truly. It was only later. I could have killed you then, you know. I thought about it, before she fell pregnant the second time. It was just dumb luck for you that she got knocked up and I could use that to send a message, without giving away it was me behind it all. Frigga knew, of course, but she didn’t have any proof so she couldn’t accuse me publicly. Murdering a toddler would have been too messy, too much possibility for witnesses, evidence.” Her nails dig into his skin. “You know what’s really _funny?_ I thought about just taking you into the forest and leaving you there to die. Just like the Jotnar left your little brother in the ice to die. Isn’t that funny?” Thor’s heartbeat pulses in his ears and he begins to think this was all very, very foolish. But at the same time, in an absurd way, he does find it actually rather funny. He and Loki are not bound by blood, but by so much else, including a near shared fate.

She releases his chin and steps back. “But I’m not going to kill you now. Don’t worry.”

“Then are you going to let us go?”

“No. I can’t quite let you go, not with Heimdall and his rebels still out there. You’ll both stay in your cell, but if you behave I will consider letting you have _limited_ freedoms once my reign is secure. As long as you promise to bow to me.”

Thor shakes his head. “You know I cannot do that.”

“Oh, brother,” She pats his cheek. “I think you’ll come around in time.”

Hela returns him to his cell about an hour later. “Now that we’ve had this little _chat_, we can all go back to bed, now, hm?” Loki tucked into the corner, faced turned away and Thor thinks that he’s not likely going to go to bed anytime soon. Hela shoves him through the door and removes the manacles through the bars. “I’m glad we could have this talk, little brother. Sleep well.” And she leaves them in silence.

“Say something,” Thor finally breaks the silence hanging in the cell. Loki doesn’t respond. “Loki, please, say something.”

Loki rises from the corner. His face is still smeared with tears and twisted in rage. “How could you?” He growls through gritted teeth. He pounds at Thor’s chest. “How could you do that? What were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry-”

Loki strikes a bit lower, a blow to the abdomen that drives the air from his lungs. Thor catches his fists.

“I thought you were _gone_. That she’d finally…finally…and I was alone here.”

“I am sorry for frightening you,” Thor says gently. “I’m sorry.” He keeps Loki’s hands held tight in one of his, to prevent any attempts to continue striking him, and with the other draws Loki into an embrace. “I’m sorry.” He does feel guilty. Loki had been already frightened, already vulnerable, and that was before he recklessly woke the sleeping dragon.

Loki rests his head on Thor’s shoulder and they stay like that for a while. Then he shivers and pulls away, going to sit crosslegged on their bed. “So? What did you talk about?”

Thor takes in Loki’s splotchy face and red eyes and hesitates. “We'll discuss it in the morning.”

“No,” Loki insists, though his imperious tone is undercut by a sniffle. “No, tell me now.”

So he does. He tells Loki everything Hela says, from her claiming that they’d grown on her, to her plans for the kingdom. When he finishes, Loki’s pulled his knees up to his chest, and is biting on his thumb, looking thoughtful.

“So what do you think we should do?” He asks.

Thor’s almost surprised at the question. Loki had not so easily requested Thor’s advice on a subject in centuries, probably. It was difficult to recall. “I don’t know,” He admits. “I still cannot just _give_ her Asgard, not when she talks of conquest beyond the Nine. Not when I know how many of our people object to her rule. But I know how many would be lost trying to violently resist her…By continuing to struggle-”

“You’re wondering if it will be ultimately better if you give in.”

“Perhaps - I don't know. If we surrender now-”

“I doubt she will in truth change anything. She bears no love for us - for me at least, she does seem to have warmed to you for some reason - she’ll likely only give us a slightly cozier cell. And how long before she remembers how much of a threat you pose and decides it will be safer to execute you in front of the whole of Asgard?” Loki’s eyes are looking a little watery again. Thor sits beside him on the bed and after a moment, Loki rests his head on his shoulder.

“I don’t know. But we can’t stay down here forever. And I highly doubt any attempts to rescue us would be successful.”

Loki snorts. “I’m sure Sif has tried to formulate a least a hundred plans so far. Heimdall’s probably going mad convincing her not to come charging in here.”

Thor smiles fondly. “I’m sure.”

“So you propose surrendering to Hela’s reign? Give Asgard over to a mad queen?”

Thor sighs. “I don’t know, brother. I do not know what to do.” They fall into silence, Thor watching the moon set through the high barred window. “I wonder what drove her mad.”

“Hm?”

“She can’t have always been like this.”

“From what she’s said it certainly seemed as though she’d _long_ been a bloodthirsty psychopath-”

“But no one is made that way. And before her imprisonment, what she was was normal for Asgard at the time.”

“Yes. It seems as though…she couldn’t keep up with the times. She was raised to be a conqueror, and when there were no more worlds to conquer, she’s left to take out her violence in other ways. Then she’s banished to Hel and…” Loki shudders. “I suppose…I suppose I understand, a bit. Hel did not sound…did not sound quite so different from the Void…” He shudders again.

Thor draws him closer, tucks his head under his chin. "I'll do nothing for now. It was only a passing thought."

"So we'll stay in our cell. Seems the best place for us."

"For now."

"As long as certain fools stop _provoking_-"

"Okay, okay, you've made your point, brother." Thor begins to absentmindedly rub his brother's shoulder. They stay awake through the dawn, and then sleep the whole of the next day.

\- - - - - - -

“Your majesty,” Skurge bows to her. “You’ve got, er, a call.” Hela sits up in her seat on the throne. She had been draped over it, feeling abysmally bored,

“A call?”

“Yes, my queen. He connected with the holograms, said he was an admirer and wanted to congratulate you on your ascension.”

“An admirer, well, how can I refuse?” Skurge places the communication device on the floor of the hall and a white light expands from it, creating a screen. The form that materializes is quite large, a man towering and muscled. He smiles when he sees her, purple skin stretching in a grin across his face.

“My lady,” He says, admiration in his voice. “At last, you hold Asgard. What an honor.”

Hela settles back on her throne. “And who might you be?”

“I am called Thanos, my queen,” He bows his head. “I am of Titan, though the last of that race.”

“Ah. And why are you so fascinated with the affairs of Asgard?” He chuckles, his voice low.

“Much of the universe is fascinated with the affairs of Asgard, my lady, considering the power and reach of Odin’s empire.”

“Not as far as I would have liked,” Hela remarks.

“Of course not. Not as much as you deserved.” He rises from his throne and walks towards her, the hologram shimmering and flickering. “Far less, in fact, for such a glorious queen as you. I have long, long admired you, my lady.”

“Oh?”

“I was just a child. Titan was dying and we had to flee. In the crisis that followed, I learned that death is the one true power in the universe. Blood and death are the only things that bring true order. And I came to love it.”

Hela lets her hand fall to the arm of the chair. “And how does one love death?”

“By killing, of course.”

“See, I thought you were going to say that. But killing for killing’s sake is not loving death-”

“Of course not, my lady,” Thanos says. “I never killed just for the sake of it. I only ever killed to balance the scales. There is too much life, too much greedy, teeming, selfish life in the universe, and not enough to go around. I have brought peace and prosperity to many planets, and in doing so have sacrificed half the population to you, and Hel, my lady. They have long called me the Mad Titan, my lady, but only because they did not understand. None of them understand the beauty of death, none of them understand _your_ beauty.”

“How did you even know about me?”

“I have my ways. I first heard stories about the former princess of Asgard, who had been denied her true glory. They said she became the queen of the dead and I knew in my heart that she was the most glorious, most beautiful goddess and that I would pledge my life to her the moment I could. Imagine my surprise and annoyance, when a prince of Asgard fell into my lap, literally, and I found he had never heard of you.”

“Of course not, my father buried me in Hel and never spoke to me again. I’ve started to suspect he used some magic to erase me from existence. He was very cross with me at the time.”

“I did not know that at the start. But I confirmed thoroughly that the prince knew nothing of you.”

“You told him? Fascinating, they both acted as though they were taken by utter surprise when I appeared. I knew that little snake was lying.”

“Maybe not, my lady. I do believe that Loki’s recollection of our time together is…rather fragmented. Though I am quite certain he remembers what he owes me, the price of his failure.”

Hela freezes. “And what failure might that be?”

“I want to give you a gift, my lady. A gift that requires objects of incredible power. I gave one to your youngest brother, sent him after another. He was to bring them to me but instead he failed. He allowed himself to be defeated, to be brought back to Asgard with my precious prize. The Tesseract.”

“Blue cube? Glowing?”

Thanos smiles. “Yes. He was to bring it to me, he swore to bring it to me. He gave it to Odin instead, with his weakness, his allowing himself to be captured. He will be punished, thoroughly, for his failure. That was the promise struck.”

“And let me guess,” Hela says with a smile. “You want me to give you this Tesseract, give you the prince, and then what?”

“I would appear to you on bended knee. I will give you the greatest gift the universe has ever seen. And we can rule it together.” Thanos has ascended the steps of the dais now, or at least the hologram has. His eyes drag over her hungrily and something unpleasant twists in her gut. He reaches out a hand. It fizzles as it touches her cheek.

“Together.” Hela keeps her voice flat, keeps scorn out of it by strength of will alone.

“You know, many in the universe called me the Mad Titan. They called you mad as well, my lady. Because they did not understand the true beauty of death. I do, I understand you, the way no one else will." He takes two steps back, the hologram flickering. He spends a long moment looking straight at her, as if savoring the image. Hela crosses her legs, leans against the arm of the throne. Something unpleasant churns in her gut. Disgust, annoyance, discomfort. "I will give you this gift, help you conquer the universe, if you give me the Tesseract and the treacherous prince.”

“Might I have time to consider?”

“Of course,” Thanos says with a bow. “I will call again tomorrow.”

“Make it the day after tomorrow. I want to be sure I can trust you.”

“Of course. All the time you need.” When he looks up at her, rising from the bow, the lust is plain in his eyes. “I pray not too much time, my queen. Only, I have waited so long for this. To see you in the flesh. I hope that one day soon I can touch you. Hold you. That we can be together.”

“Contact me the day after tomorrow,” Hela says and banishes the image with a wave of her hand.

Skurge lets out a long breath, turning it into a whistle at the end. “Well, that was something, your majesty.”

“Something.”

“I know it is far from my place to give advice-”

“Skurge, you are my executioner,” She says. “Of course I want your advice. You’re to execute my vision after all. I want you opinion.”

He bows. “Right, your majesty. I just…he seemed like a bit of a creep, to be honest.”

“Hm.”

“Yup, a real creep. Not sure he’s going to be the right guy to help you conquer the universe. And this is not out of any lingering sympathy for Prince Loki, I assure you,” He continues quickly, though the way his eyes dart seems to suggest he does, in fact, have some lingering sympathies. “Though I can’t say people would be very comfortable with the idea of turning him over to be punished like that, even after everything he’s done.”

“Gather all the information you can about this Thanos.” Hela rises from her throne. “Have it ready in the morning.”

“Right away, your majesty.”

“I’m going to see the princes.” She stalks out of the hall.

She doesn't go straight to the cells.

First, she goes to check the coordinates of the transmission. Closer than she would have liked. This Thanos seems to have presumed that she would be receptive to his offer. In the minutes that they spoke, his ship had passed several clicks, all in the direction of Asgard. By the time he called again, he would be within hours of arriving in their atmosphere. She frowns at this.

Next, she goes to check on this Tesseract. The blue cube glows innocently where it sits on a pedestal in the vaults. It radiates power, she can feel it without even touching. She reaches out a hand but the energy coming off of it makes her teeth ache. Better not.

Finally, Hela descends into the prison, past inmates who taunt and jeer at her. She descends into its very depths, to the cell that contains her brothers. Thor is asleep when she approaches the door. Loki is not.

“The Queen of the Dead,” He watches her warily. Glances at Thor’s sleeping form with a hint of fear in his eyes. He’s clearly afraid she’s going to take one of them away again. She resists the urge to roll her eyes. Loki crosses his arms over his chest and looks back to her. “To what do we owe the honor of this illustrious visit, your majesty?”

“I’ve just had a visitor of my own, little monster.” She had told Thor she would stop calling him that, but Thor’s asleep and won’t know either way. And Loki no longer flinches at her words, just keeps his wary gaze steady on her. The influence of being left alone with the far more coddling Thor, no doubt, who remains reluctant to acknowledge the reality of the monstrous changeling in their midst. Loki does flinch at her next words. The flicker passes across his face. “A Titan, seemed a bit unhinged. I think some would even call him mad…”

“He visited?” Loki says, voice hoarse. “He’s here?”

“He called. Didn’t visit, not corporeally. On his way though.”

“He…wanted…”

“Seems to be rather infatuated with me, and suggested that you perhaps owe him a great debt.” Loki has gone very, very white and very, very still. The lines of his body are taunt with tension. “I gathered that you were supposed to deliver him the Tesseract, and returned it to Asgard instead. What a good pet, fetching such a powerful object for Father. A mistake though, Thanos does not seem the kind of creature to forgive such failures.”

“I’m aware,” Loki says very carefully.

“He wants to give me a gift, apparently. Quite infatuated, like I said. Needs the Tesseract - or what it contains - to do it. Asked for you as a…bonus.” He lets out a wavering, grim chuckle. Well, it seems like he’s almost trembling. Fascinating. She wants to prod further, get at the meat of his relationship with this Thanos. “He did not seem very pleased with your performance. What do you think he’ll do to you? Execute you before all the court, or take his time? He seems the type to take his time.” Loki’s neutral expression falters. Through the careful mask she can see the fear in his eyes. No, more than fear: _terror_. Even she had not been able to elicit such pure, consuming terror. He looks to Thor, who has not yet stirred. There's something pained, dark in his eyes alongside the terror. He takes a deep breath, like he's steadying himself. His expression shutters, going blank as he turns back to her. Interesting. Hela smiles. “He gave me some time to decide, but the answer is quite clear, a debt is a debt-”

She sees the knife too late. She doesn’t know where he got it, if he magicked it away when they were captured or slipped it from their dinner plates, or what. But now it’s in his hand, a glint of silver, flashing as he brings it down on his own arm, slicing through thin fabric and flesh and then scarlet is spurting from the wound. Thor wakes with a soft, surprised cry and lunges for his brother, at the same moment that Hela passes through the door and grabs Loki’s arm, wrestling the knife away when he tries to bring it to his own throat.

The three of them fall back on the floor, now splattered with blood. Hela throws the knife into the wall and Thor tries to stem the bleeding.

“No, no, no,” Loki roars, fighting them. He is senseless with panic, writhing beneath their bodies. “Let me go, _let me go!”_

“Loki!” Thor cries. “What is going on? Why are you doing this?” He looks to Hela. “What are you doing here? What have you done?” Hela says nothing, just covers Thor’s hands with her own and lets them glow.

“Not today, little monster. You don’t get to decide when you’re going to die. That's for me to choose.” Hela is no healer, but she can stitch the flesh together well enough to slow the bleeding. When they both let go, the wounds have narrowed to shallow slits, not entirely healed but enough so that he’s out of danger. Loki sobs hysterically, still fighting them.

“Why? Why not let me die? If you’re just going to give me over to _him_, I will die anyways!" He spits, full of terrified rage. "You have the power to do it, why not just throw me to hell and spare me the torture, I cannot _bear_ it again-”

“_Loki_, what are you talking about?” Thor puts his hand to the side of Loki’s neck and forces their eyes to meet. “Look at me. What is going on? What has she done?”

“She's going to...can't let her hand me over to _him_…” He clings to Thor, shying away from Hela. She stands and starts to pace.

“To whom?”

“Thanos,” Hela answers for him, watching Thor’s face carefully for his reaction. Dawning understanding, and horror. So he knows. “Came to visit. Wants to give me a gift. Asked for something small in return. Apparently the little monster owes-”

“What do you want from us?” Thor asks, holding Loki tight in his arms. “What can I do to convince you not to acquiesce to the Titan?” Hela looks at them for a long time, then turns her back and leaves the cell.

“Don’t let him kill himself before I get back.”

Hela spends a lot of time reading.

More time than in her entire life, she must admit. She was never one for academic work. There are many snippets of information about Thanos in the tomes in the library, bits and pieces of his history, his quest. The worlds he had destroyed, the lives he had claimed. All in a grand sacrifice to death.

Then she returns to her room. To think. To have some peace and quiet in which to mull over this situation.

That is not to be.

The moment she sits down on the bed, a very large and heavy vase flies from its place by the window, slamming into the wall and shattering into a thousand pieces.

“Would you look at that,” The ghost of Queen Frigga says. “My practice has paid off. I can finally move things. How fun.”

“Congratulations, stepmother, you’ve reached a new level in your spectral visitations. Excellent ghost performance, I knew you had it in you. I suppose that means you’re going to keep haunting me?”

The ghost had appeared not long after Hela had locked the princes away in their cell. First in her dreams, then as a shadow, a whisper on the edges of her vision. Then as brief flashes, screaming at her before disappearing into the darkness. It had started getting annoying. Then Frigga’s spirit started to build strength, started to appear more stable. And that was when things got _really_ annoying.

“I’m just trying to make sure my sons lives are safe. As you promised.”

“They are alive, just as I told you. If you’re so concerned, why don’t you appear to your sons then?”

“They don’t need to see me right now. You do.”

“I think it would probably get some of the waterworks to stop. Norns, they keep _weeping_ all over each other. It’s like they’re disgusting, mewling infants again.”

“You always did hate that.”

“Well, children are very annoying.” Hela sighs. Her head hurts from bending over the books. Frigga watches her patiently. “So? You have come to offer advice from Valhalla, I hope? What to do about the suitor at my door? Do you think I should wed the Mad Titan?”

“I’m here to make sure you do the right thing.”

“And I’m to assume that the right thing is spurning his advances?”

“You are cruel and vain and ambitious, Hela. You always have been soaked in blood. But Thanos is different. Thanos is an existential threat to the universe. This isn’t a conquest, this is an _annihilation_.”

“It’s a gift, he says. For me. And your son seems to have made a bargain with him. Oaths are sacred. If he has reneged on his part of the bargain, does Thanos not deserve his due?”

“Bargains made under duress are not binding.”

“True enough.” Hela stands and begins to pace. “He has asked for the Tesseract, as if he believes I do not know what it contains. He is gathering Infinity Stones.”

“Then you understand what he intends to do with them. And why he must be stopped.”

“Why not? It’s _my_ gift-”

“It would unravel the fabric of the universe, Hela. Not even you would survive long enough to appreciate your gift.”

“Then I would rule the dead, as I was always meant to.”

“I do not believe that. You have long been cruel, long been rather unhinged-”

“Is this supposed to be swaying me over to your side?”

“But you’ve never been like Thanos. You love death, and war, and control, but not in the way Thanos does. And you know this. You know what it would be like, if you give Thanos what he wants. It will not end at the Tesseract and your brother’s life.”

“He is not my brother,” Hela snarls. “He himself has made that much clear.”

“Thanos will take more than you’re willing to give him. _He_ will rule Asgard then, you know that, and he will-”

“I know what he desires.” Hela stands and begins to pace. “I know exactly what he desires from me. Yes, he is like all men. Transfixed by death, undone by a feminine form. Without understanding anything about either, he wishes to possess death and the woman, wishes to control it.”

“Obviously.”

“No, that is not acceptable. I’m not about to bow to his desires, not even for the little monster and the usurper.”

“And why not?” Frigga asks patiently.

“Because I do not want them to die!” Hela snaps. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“So you can continue to torment them?”

“Yes,” Hela sneers. “Isn’t that the job of elder sisters?” The mocking grin drops off her face. “I also dislike this creature’s audacity. If _I_ had decided to execute them it would have been one thing but…I’m not going to do it just because some Titan shows up and requests it of me! No, I will not bow to a foreigner’s request.”

“So my children’s lives are being spared out of spite? How comforting.”

Hela realizes that Frigga’s shimmering form doesn’t look very tense. She is hovering above the ground as if seated, watching Hela pace with keen but not too wary eyes. She’s known all along Hela had no intention of giving Loki over to Thanos.

“How did you know I wouldn’t?”

“You may loathe them, but if you were going to kill them you would have already. And then I would have summoned every bit of magic in my disposal to destroy you for good this time.”

“Ah, the final volley in our grand battle, stepmother?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think of revenge, Hela. Not so much time in the afterlife, but I’m learning.” Another vase slams into the wall, shatters. “That one was almost easy.”

“_Poltergeist!_ Stop breaking my things!”

“Promise to protect my children.”

“Promise to help me get rid of the Titan.” There is a moment of silence. The two women - the goddess of death and the ghost - stare at each other.

“Agreed,” Frigga says.

“Agreed. I have a plan for your children. Somewhere they can go, out of the Titan’s reach, get them out of the way while we work on ridding ourselves of the Titan pest.”

“Good. Though I assume I’m not going to like it.”

Hela grins. “You are not going to like it, stepmother.”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking,” She says. The princes, tucked together on the bed, startle at her return. “I still don’t know if I should hand you over, brother dear. But I do wish to hear the extent of your interactions with this Thanos.” Loki sits up, perching on the edge of the bed and twisting his hands together. He doesn’t look at either of them as he tells her of his fall through the Void, his time in the hands of Thanos, his attempted invasion of Midgard.

“No barren moon, he said,” Loki finishes. “Where he could not find me.”

“Hm,” Hela begins to pace again. “This Thanos,” Loki twitches. She realizes that he has not said his name once in the whole of his accounting. She is surprised at the anger that stirs in her chest. “I dislike his audacity. He _presumes_ too much.”

“What do you mean?” Thor asks.

“He imagines himself…”

“Death’s Lover,” Loki finishes. “He used to call himself that. I never imagined he was being so…literal.” Hela bristles.

“Evidently, he is being literal. Hm. Presumptuous. I do not take kindly to such affections. No, little bird, I will not hand you over to him, or the Tesseract, so you can cease with the suicide attempts.” Loki slumps with relief. “Don’t think this means I loathe you any less,” She says quickly. “I simply take offense that he would have the audacity to demand anything, anything at all from the likes of Asgard.”

“Thank you.” Loki says, sounding sickeningly genuine. He staggers to his feet, twisting his fingers together in a way that precisely echoes the way that Frigga used to do that.

Hela bristles. “Enough of that. It’s not _for_ you, little monster. Like I said.” She straightens her spine. “I dislike presumptuous men. That is all. Now listen,” She pushes Loki roughly away, back down to the bed. “And sit down, you’re too tall, I hate having to look up at you. We don’t have much time. But I have a plan.”

\- - - - - - -

“We shouldn’t watch,” Thor says.

“No, watching would be absolutely terrible,” Loki says, but glances over the wall anyways. “It’s going to be horrifying.”

“Yes.”

“It’s all entirely mad.”

Thor wants to laugh. “Yes.”

Two days ago, if one had asked him if he would ever trust Hela, he would have laughed. If one had asked him if he would willingly leave Asgard with Hela at the helm, if he would leave his friends and his people to her reign, he would have knocked you out. Probably spat on your body for good measure.

But that was all before Thanos turned towards Asgard. Now Thor finds himself, in rough leathers and a traveling cloak, standing next to his brother wearing much the same, preparing to leave Asgard for an unknowable length of time, with his mad older sister on the throne. It was all _utter_ madness. He comes up with plans, only to have them dissolve a moment later. Thor cannot think quickly enough to get them out of the twisted web of Hela's machinations. For now, it seems that they have no choice but to go along with their unhinged sister's plan.

Loki is silent for a while, looking over the low wall. “I’m going to have to watch,” He finally says. Thor frowns. “I’ve been trying to do this without looking, but I can’t trust that the illusion will hold if I’m not checking it. It needs to all fit properly together with the surroundings and it won't if I'm doing this blindly. Especially if I’m keeping us invisible as well, if my attention is split.”

“Leave it to that _bitch_ to come up with the most horrifying, traumatizing-”

“This is the best plan we had at short notice. I don’t trust her, brother, of course not, but we don’t have any other choice. We go with her plan, or we spend the rest of our days running from Thanos. Everything is going to be far easier for us if everyone thinks we’re dead. And that includes,” He sighs and drops his voice lower. “Getting you your throne back.”

“She’s sending us to an unknown planet, with no backup, no weapons, no transport, no one who knows we are alive-”

“But we’re not locked in a cell, are we?” Loki’s eyes are bright. He smiles and Thor is reminded of the wild way he looked when they were escaping Asgard and making for Svartalfheim. It is an unwelcome comparison. “Don’t you enjoy the feel of the air? The wind?” He cannot deny that having his freedom is sending his spirit soaring. The air and sun on his face, the lightness of his limbs without chains. He does agree that this feels far preferable to the cell, though he also has moments where the brightness is blinding and the world feels like too much. “We have our freedom, Thor. We will be out of Thanos's path. That is the important part. And we’ll work our way back here. Who knows, maybe we’ll even go back to Midgard and pick up your Avenger friends. I'm sure they'll be absolutely _thrilled_ to see me.”

“Perhaps. In any case, we now have no other choice. I cannot pretend to be happy with this plan, but I cannot fight it now.”

Loki smiles. “Good.”

The minutes pass by, and Loki looks over the wall again. Instantly he pales, swallows like he’s holding back vomit. “He’s here.” Thor rises, peering over the low wall and into the main entrance to the palace.

Hela has gathered quite the crowd. The people look frightened, beaten down, and Thor’s heart sinks. He cannot help but feel like he’s betraying them. But then his eyes catch on Thanos - the flickering, translucent hologram of Thanos - and feels the way Loki has started to tremble at his side, and knows they have made the right choice. If they had stayed in the cell, they would have been sitting ducks in a matter of hours.

“We have no choice,” Loki says in a voice that trembles. “Then to be dead.”

Thor steadies him with a hand on his back, as Loki takes a deep breath and gathers his magic. He swallows convulsively.

“You’re the greatest illusionist in the Nine,” Thor says quietly in his ear. “Just concentrate.”

“I _am_, Thor, _Norns_.” Loki grinds his teeth. “I will be fine. You do not have to watch.”

“I will.”

“It’s only going to upset you.”

“You have to watch, I won’t let you watch alone.”

Loki stills under his hand, the trembling easing. “Thank you,” he says and takes a deep breath.

So they watch, as Loki’s illusion magic weaves a spell. Where exact replicas of their bodies suddenly appear, next to Hela.

They look far more pale, thin, than they are in reality. They are dressed in torn rags, their bodies marked with bruises, half-healed cuts. They are bound, their wrists behind their back, chains on their ankles. Gagged and blindfolded. Thor thinks that’s for the best. He’s not sure he could look into his own eyes during this morbid scene.

Thanos’s eyes grow wide and hungry as he watches Hela’s dead guards drag them forwards. The crowd is dead silent. “What’s this?” Thanos asks. “You are presenting me with both princes? I am honored, my lady.”

“In a manner of speaking,” Hela says. She turns from Thanos and walks down the steps, across the cobblestones. The erected structure comes into Thanos’s holographic view now.

“My lady, I assure you, Loki will die at my hand,” He growls with frustration. “Give him to me, let me have payment for my debt.”

“I thought you liked making sacrifices to me,” She says, standing on the platform. She smiles as she loops an arm through one of the nooses dangling, leans on it. “The princes are mine to do with as I please. And I choose death. I chose to make them a sacrifice. It is powerful magic. I thought you understood that.”

Loki’s shaking hard, there’s a momentary flicker in the illusion.

“It’s okay.” Thor whispers in his ear, carefully rubbing his brother’s back. “Concentrate.”

“I am _trying_,” Loki hisses back. But he manages a deep breath in, his hands and the illusion steady.

Back in the square, their doppelgängers begin to struggle against the equally illusionary guards holding them.

“Yes, I have chosen death. The princes have resisted my rule. They have vowed to kill me, so I thought it was only fair if I killed them first.”

They are dragged up the stairs and held in place as Hela loops the nooses around their necks herself, one by one tightening them. None of it really exists. The platform and the crossbar does, but the nooses are all part of the illusion. If anyone looked too closely, they might see the gap between Hela’s hand and the rope, but Loki is skilled and does his job well.

“Can I at least entreat you to make it slow, your majesty?” Thanos asks. “Snapping their necks is efficient, yes…but as consolation for my own lost vengeance.”

“You might…” She pauses for a moment, finger on her chin. “Fine. I accept.”

Loki sucks a breath in. Thor holds him tighter. "It's almost done.”

The platform had contained trapdoors. Skurge was going to pull the lever and let them drop, which would have snapped their necks in an instant. Instead, Hela mimes fetching a stool from the edge of the platform. Loki works quickly to conjure it. Hela shoves at the illusion, forces him to step up onto the stool and shortens the rope so he is just barely keeping his feet.

Loki sways, bringing his trembling hand to his throat, recalling too vividly the feeling of the chains that Hela had wrapped around his neck that horrible day in the throne room. He can almost feel the brush of the rope against his skin. The only reason the illusion does not break is Thor’s hand rubbing slowly up and down his back.

“I’ll even do it one at a time, so you can really savor it.” Hela says. And kicks.

The stool drops out from his feet, his neck twists to the side, and his whole body jerks. The chains clink as his feet kick in the empty air. For several minutes, Loki kills himself, conjures the illusion of his own death by hanging. Thor is fairly certain if he was not so intent on keeping Loki focused on the illusion, keeping him calm, he would have vomited.

Then Hela kicks out the other stool, and Loki repeats the process, with Thor’s body this time.

Thor just rubs his back, noses the back of his head. “It’s not real,” He whispers. “It’s not real.”

When it’s over, when both of them are still, swinging corpses with swollen, purple faces, Hela lets out a breath that seems like a pleased sigh.

“Satisfied?” She asks Thanos. He does not look satisfied. He looks like something has just been yanked away from him. Thor thinks with horror of what worse fates could have awaited them.

She turns back to the crowd. “The princes are dead.” It rings out. “You’re welcome.”

Then she steps off the platform, dismisses the hologram of Thanos, and enters the palace. The dead guards cut down the bodies and lower them into a cart, then drag it behind them as they follow her.

The crowd is dead silent. After a moment, Thor thinks he hears someone start to weep and they all break up, quietly drifting away. Once the cart is inside the palace gates, and the doors swing shut, Loki is free to fully break the illusion. He releases the magic and it pours back into him. His knees buckle and Thor just barely manages to catch him, easing him to the ground.

Loki sucks in air, grasps at his throat like he truly had been hanged. Thor finds his own chest is tight, his own eyes stinging.

For a long time neither of them can speak. They just sit, Thor’s hands bracketing Loki’s face, thumbs tracing a soothing line over his cheeks.

Finally, Thor gives a watery laugh. “That was grim, brother.”

Loki manages to return the grin. “Apologies. And for,” He gestures at himself. “I can’t…wasn’t expecting...”

“To see him?” Loki shudders, and nods. “We’re free of him, brother. We’re dead, remember?” Thor glances back at the now empty gallows. "It would truly have been..." Loki looks back at him with a raised brow. "It would have been that bad? You've been so afraid of Hela, from the start and now..."

"Ah," Loki says. "Yes. Yes, I suppose. I didn't even really think of it. It was just...the moment I knew it was coming, I stopped thinking of what Hela had done and started thinking only of how she could keep me away from him. To answer your question, Thor, yes it would have been that bad. His excitement at the prospect of getting both of us told me exactly what he would have done. I would be slowly tortured to death, as punishment for my failure in New York. He would have..." Loki swallows. "He would have done the same to you as he did to me, when I fell into the Void. Turned you into something twisted and broken to his will, and then sent you to fight against your friends. He would have really enjoyed that, the betrayal." He looks down at his hands. "And he may have even kept me alive, to further ensure your good behavior. Unfortunate, since my only hope would be a quick death."

"Loki-"

"So yes, the moment I knew Thanos was coming for me, I lost all sense. I tried to take the easy way out, but it seems the two of you will not allow me that." Thor's hands tighten on his shoulders. "I could only think of keeping myself away from him and...no, I still do not like or trust Hela, but we have no other option, no other recourse." Loki looks back to him. "I would rather Hela kill us than go back to Thanos. Do you understand?"

Thor bites his tongue against further argument. He still does not like this plan, hates that he has to trust Hela of all people. But they are out of the cell, and they may be able to come back soon, rejoin Heimdall's forces, find a way to defeat both Thanos and Hela. A farfetched hope, to be sure, but they would be in far more dire straits if they were still trapped in the prison, or if Thanos had taken them.

Thor slings an arm across Loki's shoulders and lets him rest his head against his shoulder. They wait, hidden behind the stone wall and Loki's magic, until night falls.

Hela appears from the darkness. “Well done,” She says, impressed. “It was uncanny. Really. You are indeed quite the sorcerer.”

“Thank you,” Loki says dully.

“You needn’t have given in to his request,” Thor spits. “You needn’t have dragged it out.”

Hela takes his chin in her grip. “No,” She says. “But I did. Because I wanted to remind you, that it is my prerogative, what happens to you. Understand? If you cross me again, do you understand what waits for you?” Thor remains silent, keeping his hand clutched to Loki’s arm. “Come on.”

She leads them out onto the bridge, towards the observatory.

“And how are you going to trigger it, without the sword?” Loki asks.

She scoffs. “It would be easier if Heimdall had not stolen the sword, yes. It’s difficult, uncontrolled, but not impossible to open the bifrost without it.” The observatory is still stained with blood, smeared with it where the bodies have been dragged away. On the other side from the bridge, the door have been left wide open, out onto the stars. There are runes scratched into the walls on either side, and Hela presses one long finger to one.

Light flashes. Not the brilliant rainbow of the bifrost, but a faint, shimmering blue and green light. She takes her hand off the rune.

“I made this portal specially for you,” She says, with mocking sweetness. “No one will be able to follow you, and you won’t be able to return by it. You’ve been quite effectively exiled, now that everyone thinks you’re dead. Farewell for now, brothers. Best of luck.”

“But where is the portal?”

“There,” She gestures at the blue light. “You’ll have to jump.”

The remaining color drains from Loki’s face. “Jump?”

Hela sighs impatiently. “Yes. Terribly sorry. That’s the way it works.” Before Thor can stop her, she grabs Loki’s arm and bodily swings him towards the doors - he cries out and she shoves him over the edge.

“Wait!” Thor cries. He pushes past her and jumps without thought for himself.

This time, his reaching hand closes on flesh. He manages to yank Loki’s body to his and hold on tight as they careen through the Void, into a crack in reality, and fall through the stars together.

“This is a terrible idea,” The ghost of Frigga worries at her hands, twisting her fingers together. Just like Loki had.

Hela looks away.

“They’ll at least be far from Thanos. More than I can say for us. He’s coming. I hope you’re ready to uphold your end of the bargain, ghost-queen.” Frigga gives her a feral smile. The years seem to strip off her in Hela’s sight. She looks just like the young witch she’d been when she married Odin, when she became queen of Asgard - and Hela’s sworn enemy. She looks just as she did when their magical rivalry had threaten to level cities.

Thanos doesn’t know what’s waiting for him.

**Author's Note:**

> So Thor and Loki are out of the cell (three guesses to where they're going), Thanos is on his way, and Hela and Frigga have set aside a long and bloody rivalry to join forces against him. Things are going so well! /s
> 
> I've been weirdly nervous about posting this! I'm not 100% sure why. I mean, I have some idea of why, but I do hope it's satisfying! 
> 
> This part is a bit of an interlude between the two longer sections. I'm still on the outline stages for the third and concluding part, so I don't want to make any promises regarding posting date (especially since I really should finish up the big Endgame AU that I've been promising people for like six months). Feel free to check in with me on tumblr [@bereft-of-frogs](https://bereft-of-frogs.tumblr.com/) for writing progress, yelling about these idiot fools, and other assorted shenanigans, and (though I mostly lurk) twitter [@bereft_of_frogs](https://twitter.com/bereft_of_frogs). 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Comments/Kudos/Shares/Frogs always appreciated!


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